I am a Senior Political Contributor at Forbes and the official 'token lefty,' as the title of the page suggests. However, writing from the 'left of center' should not be confused with writing for the left as I often annoy progressives just as much as I upset conservative thinkers. In addition to the pages of Forbes.com, you can find me every Saturday morning on your TV arguing with my more conservative colleagues on "Forbes on Fox" on the Fox News Network and at various other times during the week serving as a liberal talking head on other Fox News and Fox Business Network shows. I also serve as a Democratic strategist with Mercury Public Affairs.

Preventative dentistry for kids is also included. As for anything not covered—basically, vision and adult dentistry—private supplemental policies are available for purchase and cheap enough to allow approximately 80 percent of the country’s citizens to buy the supplemental coverage.

It gets even better.

Based on tax collections for the program, the government—and the government alone—decides how much it will pay to the four health maintenance organizations based on the age and health of their beneficiaries. If the amount the government elects to pay is insufficient to cover the HMO’s costs—tough. It’s up to the HMO to find a way to avoid dipping into the red as they are prohibited by law from withholding or diminishing the quality of care made available to their customers.

In a nation that is operating what could only be described as the antithesis of a free-market health care system, one can only expect that patient satisfaction might not be all that might be hoped for—at least that is what our devoutly anti-socialist, free market medical enthusiasts would have us believe.

As it turns out…not so much. Israelis are very happy with the care they are receiving.

Sarah Kliff reports the results of a 2011 study of the Israeli medical system conducted for Health Affairs by Jack Zwanziger and Shuli Brammli-Greenberg wherein the authors actually credit the Israeli government’s control for the success of the nation’s healthcare experience:

The national government exerts direct operational control over a large proportion of total health care expenditures, through a range of mechanisms, including caps on hospital revenue and national contracts with salaried physicians. The Ministry of Finance has been able to persuade the national government to agree to relatively small increases in the health care budget because the system has performed well, with a very high level of public satisfaction.

While Governor Romney will, no doubt, be called upon in the coming hours and days to explain his generous words for this government controlled medical system, I can already anticipate what we might expect to hear.

The Governor will tell us that it is up to each nation to decide what works best for its people and that, when it comes to the United States, socialized health care— or the use of significant government regulation and controls in medicine —is simply not the way to go.

But his answer will not speak to why he chose to highlight and praise the Israeli system just as it won’t tell us why such a system cannot succeed in the United States. His answer will also not explain why government mandates and government required basic coverage minimums are praiseworthy when it comes to our Israeli friends but are to be vilified by Mitt Romney and his supporters when they are included in the Affordable Care Act.

Mitt Romney won’t answer these questions because that is simply not the way the GOP candidate for President rolls.

But I think we know the answer. Had Barack Obama been the architect of the successful Israeli medical system, Romney would be defining the program as the beginning of Israel’s descent into Western European style socialism and decay.

Still, is it really asking too much that Mitt Romney take a position and stick with it—even if he doesn’t actually believe in the position he determines to be the most politically expedient?

Either he’s for the Massachusetts health care program he signed into law that would become the model for the Affordable Care Act or he’s against it. Either he supports and praises the Israeli socialist healthcare system wherein the government controls, mandates, and regulates the nation’s healthcare delivery or he’s against socialized medicine as the very symbol of the devil’s work in the world.

All I would ask of Governor Romney is this—just pick one already, will you Mitt?

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Romney’s main weakness lies in his less-than-thoughtful remarks, incurring unnecessary discomfort on others. In fact, Obama will likely be re-elected because his opponent is seemingly lame and shoddy. (vzc1943)

Romney is giving us whiplash, but thankfully Rick’s tunnel vision keeps my neck from snapping too far. I’ll stay kiddy pool shallow, but that is plenty to show socialized Israeli medicine vs socialized US medicine would be unrecognizable to each other: Israel is much smaller and it is 1000′s of times easier to manage anything at that scale. Israel’s population is much more homogenous and easier to plan from a public health standpoint. Israel holds the managed care companies very accountable and ensures competition with 4 organizations. The US is completely incapable of doing anything like this (see Medicare, education, etc.). Shoot I was going to keep going, but those 3 are plenty.

Hopefully Romney’s comments were driven by the outcomes vs cost he is seeking in the US healthcare system. The only chance of that happening here would be to get the government to make the mandate of covering everyone, reform the tort system, close the FDA, and get the heck out of the way.

Thanks for that dramatic statement of the obvious in noting that Israel is much smaller. I suppose I’ll now have to rewrite the entire article. For starters, this piece is not about whether the Israeli system would – or would not – work in the USA, now is it? It is about Governor Romney fawning all over a socialist system’s success only to tell us here at home the socialized medicine in the anti-christ. That said, there is so much wrong in your comment it is hard to pick and choose. Let’s begin with Israel being a ‘homogenous’ population. You probably don’t get how this is a kind of an offensive line, but, just to set you straight, the country’s population is anything but homogenous. Do a little homework. Secondly, while you seem to feel that the US does a poor job with Medicare, the facts tell a hugely different story. You should lay off reading conservative ideology and look at how the public actually responds to Medicare. Clearly, the program has grave financial challenges. But what is interesting is that rather than it occurring to you that it might be interesting to attempt to run Medicare in similar fashion to what the Israelis do, you simply assume that it wouldn’t work.Again- too much right wing ideology. If you actually had some clue as to the facts, you would be very surprised indeed. In point of fact, the Israeli system is very much scalable to the US- however we lack the will to ‘go there’ because it is a breed of socialized medicine. In this country, we don’t allow the government to control prices and hire the doctors. And when we get legislation similar to the Israeli system calling for mandated health coverage and a minimum level of benefits, we go to court or scream ‘repeal’. Finally, as you apparently haven’t heard, we have smaller sized government units capable of running an Israeli type system here in the USofA. They are called states.

I have Medicare and its great! Now the facts! Medicare’s operating expenses are 5%, while private health insurance companies charged 30% plus before the new health care law restricts them to 20%! Medicare can easily be extended to everyone and the cost per person of American health care would go down for the following reasons, 1) younger healthier people would be included, 2) price controls!!! Today we have millionaire doctors, and billion dollar health care ins. corporations, billion dollar hospital corporations, billion dollar pharma corporations, billion dollar medical device supply corporations, and many of these corporations are foreign owned!! The facts aren’t as ad wothy as Obama care, etc., but the truth is of the top 20 economic countries in the world , America chages the most for health care and gets the least, and we’re the only one that DOESN’T have Socialized Healthcare!! Those are the facts, live in the Corporate health care lies, or travel and see first hand the truth, reading lies by people who are invested in the current corrupt health care system we have now will never allow you to see the truth!!

Hi Rick, here are a few facts as opposed to your emotion diatribe. 1. The piece was not about whether the Israeli system would work or not, you just implied it all the way through the article. 2. I said much more homogeneous, this is completely accurate. Israel is 75% Jewish (most being geographically from an arc from Israel to England), 20% Arabic (again from the same arc), and 5% other. Geographically Israel has very homogeneous environmental health issues. COMPARED to us, (hopefully you can figure out the difference between the demographics I just listed and the US list. Hint- the US list is 30 times longer) they are homogeneous. Stop taking my written comments out of context and trying to say they are offensive. 3. Medicare – Public opinion does not equal effectiveness. You are right, running Medicare like the Israelis run their system would have been much better. But the horse has left the stable and the exponential increase in our health care costs can be traced back exactly to Medicare becoming law. Why would the US government do a better job now than in the 60′s? It would most likely do worse. 4. Yes, states would have a chance to run healthcare better using their smaller scale. But, would the Feds be able to keep their fingers out of it? No. Wishing and a hoping that the government can run something well is quite different from what happens in reality.

So readers should “lay off reading conservative ideology” but YOU are free as journalist to preach liberal ideology? The ACA is NOT the Israeli health care system. Not even close. You’re using too much left wing ideology. YOU, as a journalist, should have been the one to point out the population of Israel and the number of people currently enrolled in Medicare. We actually have one of the largest socialized medical plans in the word and it’s having “grave financial challenges” despite being funded by every working American paying FICA tax. So tell us, genius, how is it that the Israeli system DOESN’T have “grave financial challenges” but Medicare DOES?

“Finally, as you apparently haven’t heard, we have smaller sized government units capable of running an Israeli type system here in the USofA. They are called states.”

Yeah? How’s Medicaid doing? Here in IL they’re a year behind in payments for services. AMAZING that you would use a system that is even more “financially challenged” than Medicare as you’re closing statement to your comment.

Ha! If you think this is an ‘emotional diatribe’, wait ’till you get a load of me when I’m angry! 1. Far be it from me to know what was in my mind when I was writing the piece- and I have no doubt that you know my mind better than I – but I thought the piece was about Romney’s two-faced rhetoric. Go figure. 2.You’re just digging your hole even deeper. Just because 75 percent of the country is Jewish hardly makes them homogenuous. I doubt that the Jews who have emigrated to Israel from Ethiopia would be considered homogenuous with the population who emigrated from Turkey. I’m Jewish and yet my background is decidedly different from many of my Israeli friends, including my long-time business partners. Not all Jews are the same. 3. You don’t get it. Medicare is, by all objective studies, extremely effective. Is there a financial crisis in the system? Absolutely. But this does not negate the success of the program. 4. Medicaid operates dramatically different from the Israeli system. You have suggested that the subtext of the piece was my suggesting that the Israeli system could work here. And yet, you seem to miss that comparison when applying the point to state operated systems. Is it possible that you simply want to argue with whatever I say- no matter how compelling the logic- or do you not see how you are staking out wholly inconsistent positions. You’re welcome to approach this any way you like. But do us a favor and at least try to apply some consistency.

Mark- thanks so much for your advice with respect to how to practice journalism. I find that when people capitalize the word ‘you’ at every opportunity, it is a sure sign that this is someone whose words of wisdom are to be taken very seriously. Had you not capitalized “you” and the occasional “does” and “amazing” well…I might have to conclude that you just don’t know what you’re talking about.

Now, if your going to give me career advice, as much as I appreciate it, it would be good if, from time to time, the advice made some sense. You know, like taking things written and responded to in context rather than removing them from context so as to make a pithy point.

But, most important, when providing a critique of an article I find it useful to, you know, actually understand it.

You wrote – “So tell us, genius, how is it that the Israeli system DOESN’T have “grave financial challenges” but Medicare DOES?”

Uh..that was kind of one of the points.

The Israeli system operates very differently than our own and, as Governor Romney so aptly pointed out, far more efficiently than our own. So, here’s a thought…could it possibly be because their form of a health care system is superior to our own? Could it be that were we to adapt a system similar to theres things might work better here?

But, of course, that would be bringing socialized medicine to America. And I don’t think Mr. McNally likes socialized medicine.

So..what exactly is the point you are trying to make with me – beyond, of course, the obvious point that you don’t think very much of me because you believe me to be a liberal?

Other than you’re a hack journalist? We don’t have to be experts on journalism to recognize your bias. Not only that but you are so uninformed. Seriously, how did you get this job?

Medicare IS socialized medicine. What part of that don’t you get? Is private insurance funded through FICA tax? We already have socialized medicine and it’s a failure. They’ve been discussing how to “fix” Medicare for decades. Why? Because it works so well? Our private insurance industry DOESN’T have financial challenges. Medicare does.

Romney recognizing Israeli accomplishments in the area of health care isn’t an endorsement of socialized medicine for the US. Unless, of course, you’re suggesting Mitt wants to replace Medicare with the Israeli system. That would actually be true Medicare reform, and we wouldn’t want that now would we? Maybe we should turn over Medicare to the Israelis and let them reform it?

You’re actually really quite ignorant if you think America is ranked so poorly because of the health care delivery system. It’s the American LIFESTYLE that’s unhealthy. That’s not going to change with the ACA just because someone else is flipping the medical bill. The care given is already the best in the world. If you actually understood why we were ranked 37th you wouldn’t be blabbing on about socialized medicine.

Why is it that you liberals hate being called liberal? Would you feel better if I called you a “progressive”?

“Other than you’re a hack journalist? We don’t have to be experts on journalism to recognize your bias. Not only that but you are so uninformed. Seriously, how did you get this job?”

Well, I can tell you I’m not related to anyone named Forbes so I guess I didn’t get the gig that way. As for the bias—yes, you found me out! What was your first clue? Maybe that the column is entitled “The Token Lefty”? You see, bias is why they call it an ‘opinion column’. Again, how can you expect me to take your offered direction when it comes to how to write (setting aside, of course, the valuable lesson on when to capitalize full words) when you don’t know the difference between opinion and reporting?

“Why is it that you liberals hate being called liberal? Would you feel better if I called you a “progressive”?”

Yeah..it’s a problem. Until we figure it out, you can just call me Rick. But then, we both know you’re calling me something else, don’t we?

1. You could write a novel on Romney’s two-faced rhetoric, but most of your article describes the Israeli health care system. Your claimed intent and content are not matching. 2. There are a total of 200,000 people in Israel from somewhere besides the Middle East or Europe. I’m not talking about the challenges of peaceful coexistence, I’m talking about the challenge of delivering public health in the US vs Israel. If you are still insisting Israel is somehow more diverse ethnically, racially, geographically, culturally, etc. when it comes to health issues, your credibility is gone. 3. Medicare delivers pretty good care to its intended population. Medicare has also made health care unaffordable for the rest of the population and created a system of care that does a very poor job of keeping people well. Success at what cost? 4. Where in the world did you see the word Medicaid? I am generally saying a single state has the potential of running a health care program better than the federal government could. But that is pie in the sky because the feds would interfere and render the state program as poor as any federal program.

Stevewr, saying that Israel is more homogenous because 70% of the populace is Jewish is like saying if you put together a town of Christians that are uneducated Ehtiopian Christians, Jesuit priests from France and Texas Evagelicals, it is homogenous because they are all Christian. About 53% of Israeli Jews come from the Arab countries ( or their parents did) and that includes Iran, iraq, Yemen Jordan etc. some came as idealists before the war from Eurpoe and others because they had nowhere else to go. It started giving everyone healthcare from the minute they arrived, many with only the clothes on their back even though the country had no money. The system succeeds not because they are “homogeneous”, but because a healthy population is a value to every Israeli.

Lisas, did you even read my comment? I clearly stated the country of origin for Israeli ciitzens is all the countries in the Middle East and Europe with a few hundred thousand from other countries. Now compare that to the US with a significant number of people from every country on Earth. Which country is more diverse? The US by far.

Do you understand public health? People with different genetic backgrounds, living in different environments, and having different cultures make delivering public health much more challenging. It is much more difficult to keep the US population healthy than it would be to keep the population of Israel healthy.